The storage of fishing lures presents a continuing problem that afflicts many fisherman. There are a wide variety of fishing lures that are utilized by fisherman. The typical fisherman will encounter congealed masses of plastic worms, crusty jars of long-forgotten pork rind, dusty piles of other types of lures, and other assorted debris within the tackle box. The problem of the clean and efficient storage of lures and tackle is a goal that often escapes the fisherman.
The problem of lure storage becomes even more complicated when the fisherman uses a wide variety of crankbaits. Crankbaits are plastic molded "fish-like" lures which typically have two sets of treble hooks. Although the hooks are not magnetized, the hooks manage to interconnect and tangle up. It is only rarely that one is able to retrieve a crankbait from the storage compartment without having to perform a complicated procedure to free it from bondage. Every year the fishing industry produces greater varieties of crankbaits. Crankbait accumulation becomes a problem faced by fishermen. In competitive fishing events, it is of prime importance to have a variety of crankbaits available for efficient use during the competition.
There are many other problems that face anglers utilizing conventional storage systems. Any moisture that would accumulate in the flat box-like storage trays will cause a problem of rusty hooks. Whenever more than one lure is placed in an individual compartment in a typical storage tray, entanglement becomes a serious problem. Many fisherman utilize plastic worms as bait. When these plastic worms are placed into conventional storage systems, these plastic worms will convey a chemical reaction to lures in the storage box so as to ruin the paint on the crankbaits stored in the storage box. Rubber skirts often fuse to lures when exposed to excessive heat. The frictional movement of the lure within a conventional storage tray will diminish the finish of the lure. Since the finish of the lure is an important factor in attracting fish and catching such fish, it is important to maintain the quality of the finish on the lure, especially for crankbaits. In conventional storage systems, one must search through several boxes, unfold a complicated array of drawers, and carry out excessive manipulation in order to choose the proper lure. If the storage box is turned over or picked up without properly securing the lid of the storage box, the lures will become scattered and disorganized. It is often time consuming to orderly organize the lures. In horizontal drawer systems of storage, it is very inconvenient for the competitive fisherman to stoop over and access the storage box. Furthermore, as the inventory of lures grows, it becomes expensive to purchase additional storage boxes. In brief summary, the conventional storage systems that are available on the market do a poor job of tracking and preserving these lures.
In order to have an effective assortment of crankbaits, the crankbait fisherman should be prepared to maintain a supply of approximately seventy-two crankbaits. In competitive fishing, it is very important that the bass fisherman have a systematic selection of crankbaits capable of covering the various depths of which bass might hold: shallow, medium, and deep. Within these particular categories, the fisherman should have wide-wobbling plugs and narrow-wobbling lures and vibrating, lipless crankbaits. Each lure style should be represented in four basic color patterns: shad, chartreuse, gold and crawfish. In addition, the competitive fisherman should pack two of each kind of crankbait just in case a particularly productive crankbait is lost.
Although there are a wide variety of tackle boxes presently available, none of these tackle boxes present a vertical storage system for crankbaits. None of these systems effectively organizes the crankbaits in accordance with type, style, and depth. Most of these existing tackle boxes present horizontal storage systems, drawer storage, or unfolding slide styles of storage. As stated previously, none of these particular styles of tackle boxes are effective mechanisms for the use of crankbaits.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,044, issued on Jun. 26, 1990 to the present inventor, describes a lure storage container. This patent describes a container for fishing lures that has a box, a panel slidably positioned within the box, and a suitable lure receiving member that is slidably received within a plurality of horizontal slots in the panel. The box had a plurality of vertical slots formed therein for receiving the panel. The lure receiving member has a flat surface that is suitable for insertion into the horizontal bars fitted to the exterior of the panel. A circular clip was used which extended from the flat surface outwardly so as to engage a portion of the lure. A number of indentations were formed on the top surface of the slots within the box so as to receive the bottom edge of a panel for suitable display.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a lure storage container that allows crankbaits to be vertically displayed.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a lure storage container that effectively organizes the crankbaits.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a lure storage container that maintains the finish on the stored lures.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a lure storage container that is particularly adapted to the storage of crankbaits and other treble-hooked lures.
It is still another object of the present invention to prevent hook entanglement of the lures within the container.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.